1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to the field of terminating the individual conductors of a multi-conductor flat cable to further terminal points which may be, for example, for receipt therein of the pins of further electrical connectors or of printed circuit boards or the like. Such connectors find their principle employment in use as a transition between a printed circuit board and a flat cable.
2. Description of the Prior Art
According to prior art techniques, there are available connectors for conducting individual conductors of a flat cable to further terminal points which may be, in fact, a socket for receipt therein of the pins of a further connector, a printed circuit board, or the like. The contacts in such a prior art connector are placed into a base member having formed apertures therein such as to prevent the unwanted movement of the contacts in a second direction, that is, towards the second, or bottom, surface of the base member. However, the contacts are generally free to move in a first direction with respect to the base member's first, or top surface. The only restraint is the frictional engagement between the contact and the aperture walls. The contacts are only fixed in place and prevented from moving in said first direction at such time as a flat cable is placed thereover and the cover means is employed to force the individual conductors of the flat cable into the insulation piercing upper portions of the contacts thus making a union between the conductors and the contacts, and, further, when the cover if fully closed, causing the engagement of a latching mechanism which assures the integrity of the connector and prevents unwanted separation of the component parts. The attempted assembly of the cover means of the connector to the base member and the individual conductors of a multiconductor cable with the contacts of the base member of the connector provides some difficulty in that any motion, other than direct downward motion, can cause a bending or displacement of the contacts in such a manner that improper connection, or no connection at all, will be made between the contacts and the conductors of the flat cable. In order to eliminate the misalignment problems a technique employed by one of the connectors found in the prior art is to include a slot for receipt of the end of a flat cable within the upper portion of the connector with a plurality of apertures arranged to be in alignment with individual contacts found in the base portion. In this manner, one has only to align the contacts in the base portion with the apertures in the upper portion and force the two portions together to permit the engagement between the contacts and the flat cable. Again, however, any motion of any component in a direction other than downward, or, should the cable be cocked within the upper portion, an improper connection or destruction of the contacts or other portions of the connector is quite possible. Finally, the only way to assure interconnection of the component portions of the connector is in final assembly when the external latches of the connector are assembled.